Material Empire

It was not until three days later that the news that all the outgoing steel products had been seized came back to Xingchuan, which shocked all the owners of the small steel mills.

Not all factories ship goods in the past few days, but steel products are always shipped out of the county in the end. The working group did not take action in Xingchuan County, but blocked all exit passages in Xingchuan County, which is equivalent to jamming the necks of various steel mills. Qin Hai remembered that there was an advertisement in later generations, which was called "no purchase, no killing". Similarly, if you want to stop the production of strip steel companies, you don't need to bother to check at all. As long as their sales channels are blocked, they will naturally support it. I can't go down.

Steel is an unusual consumer product. For example, fake cigarettes and alcohol can also be transported out through mountain paths. As long as you are willing to suffer a little, it is not difficult to bypass the checkpoints set up by the government. Steel is a bulky and heavy commodity, which can only be transported by large trucks or flatbed trucks, and these vehicles cannot detour through mountain roads, they can only take regular roads. Also, due to the heavy load of these cars, the driving speed cannot be increased, which makes it impossible to realize the method of "punching the card". Of course, those self-employed or transportation companies engaged in transportation will not be interested in accompanying the steel mill bosses to death. It is really unnecessary to charge a card for a load of steel.

"Who did this, it's too cruel!"

"Isn't this killing us?"

"It's better to just copy our factory!"

The small bosses were panicked and resentful at the same time. In their view, this time's actions were far more vicious than previous inspections of factories.

The case of copying factories has never happened in Xingchuan, but it has happened in neighboring counties. A small steel factory doesn't have many fixed assets. The most expensive thing is an electric furnace, plus some equipment for casting and rolling steel, which can cost hundreds of thousands of yuan at best. When encountering such a case of copying a factory, the boss often leaves the factory and runs away, letting law enforcement officers take the equipment away. After the limelight passes, they can use their past savings to buy equipment and continue working.

But this time the situation was different. The other party first tricked various steel mills into purchasing a large amount of scrap steel and spent all the money on these raw materials. Then block the exit to prevent the local ground strip steel from leaving the country. Things that can't be sold are no different from waste products, and if they can't get the money back, it means that they have completely lost money in this transaction.

The loan sharks in the county got the news immediately, and they began to urge the debtors to repay the debts on time, otherwise they would pay interest until the last drop of blood was drained from these small bosses. However, the steel cannot be sold, and no one has the ability to repay the usury. In this way, conflicts arise.

Few of those who can lend usury are good people. When they heard that the borrower couldn't repay the loan, they immediately arranged for thugs to come to the door to force the debt. The small bosses had nowhere to go, so they had to unite and collectively resist the loan sharks' reminders. There were more than a dozen fights in just a few days to collect loans, and one of them almost killed someone.

At this point, Gao Xuejian finally couldn't sit still. He arranged for Wang Yue, the director of the office, to go to Kangtai County to learn about the checkpoint.

Qin Hai was actually in command at the checkpoint in Kangtai. However, in order to avoid trouble, he did not come forward directly. Instead, he pushed a battalion commander named Zhang Xiangqian to be the commander on the spot. When Wang Yue came to the checkpoint, he saw this active military officer with a straight back and a dignified face.

Just as Cui Hongchun suggested, Qin Hai directly approached Ji Mingchu, and asked Ji Mingchu to dispatch a group of elite soldiers from the garrison to help him complete this operation. The management of small iron and steel is a real task assigned by the central government, and it is not too far-fetched to ask the army to provide cooperation. Qin Hai didn't use officials from the ministries and commissions to be in charge of the various checkpoints because he was worried that the officials of the ministries and commissions would be involved in too many relationships. If they encountered some intercessors, these officials would be very embarrassed, and they might even let go. In addition, investigating and dealing with low-quality steel is a matter of cutting people's money, and it may cause mass incidents. It is also easy to control the situation by finding some military officers to command.

"Zhang Battalion Commander, when did you set up this checkpoint? Why didn't you say hello to our local authorities for such a big matter? Some things, if we help coordinate, it will be easier than you." Wang Wang As soon as Yue saw Zhang Xiangqian, he approached him with a smile on his face, but there was some dissatisfaction in his words.

Zhang Xiang was expressionless, and replied: "Director Wang, we are following orders, and I don't understand the matter of contacting the local government."

"Zhang Battalion Commander, you have seized so much steel, what are you going to do with it? The steel is shipped from our county, and our county magistrate is very concerned about your disposal plan." Wang Yue asked again.

Zhang Xiangqian still had the same expression, and said: "I'm sorry, Director Wang, I received an order not to allow any low-quality steel to pass through this road. As for where these steels come from and how they will be disposed of in the future, I have no idea."

"Then who should I ask about this matter?" Wang Yue was a little impatient. What he was most afraid of when doing things was this kind of situation where oil and salt would not get in. As long as Zhang Xiangqian could let go, he would have a way to make an inch of it, from the iron plate. Pry open a seam.

Zhang Xiangqian said: "Director Wang can ask the State Economic and Trade Commission's Working Group on Small Iron and Steel Management to find out the specific situation. We were also assigned by the working group to carry out the task."

"Then...how long do you plan to check?" Wang Yue asked for confirmation.

"This...no comment." Zhang Xiangqian replied very simply.

Wang Yue touched the ashes of his nose, so he could only go back to report to Gao Xuejian in despair. After listening to Wang Yue's introduction, Gao Xuejian's expression was gloomy. If he can't figure out that this matter is related to the cowardly and incompetent Qin Hai who was smiling before, then he has spent so many years in the officialdom for nothing. He just couldn't figure it out. Even if Qin Hai discovered the serious problems in Xingchuan County's small iron and steel industry, there was no need to use this method to solve the problem. Since he has the ability to mobilize troops, why not go directly to the village to seal up those factories? simple?

He certainly didn't expect that Qin Hai didn't blindly pursue suppression, but wanted to lead these small iron and steel enterprises to the road of large-scale and regular operation. To do this, you have to consider some tricks.

"You mean, all these checkpoints are aimed at us in Xingchuan?" Gao Xuejian asked Wang Yue.

"Yes, several checkpoints are built on the road about two kilometers outside our county, obviously to block the export of steel in our Xingchuan County. I called several other counties and they did not appear there. A similar situation." Wang Yue said.

"Damn it! Where am I sorry for this surnamed Qin? He won't go anywhere. He only chose us, Xingchuan, to do the research. That's all. With such a big move, is this trying to drive us Xingchuan to death?" Gao Xuejian shouted angrily.

"Magistrate Gao, why don't we go to the province and file a lawsuit with them?" Wang Yue suggested. Zhang Xiangqian said that it was the working group of the State Economic and Trade Commission who gave the order. Wang Yue knew that Xingchuan County did not have such a big face to be able to talk directly with the Economic and Trade Commission, and could only coordinate through the province.

"Looking for the province? How to find it, and for what reason?" Gao Xuejian asked angrily.

Wang Yue said: "They don't target other counties, but only target our Xingchuan. Isn't that enough reason? What does the Economic and Trade Commission think about our Xingchuan? Can you just say it directly? Why do they use such vicious means? As a central ministry, It is really unacceptable to engage in such a conspiracy."

Gao Xuejian shook his head and said: "No way, if we go to the province like this, we can only make fun of ourselves in the end. It's not that the province doesn't understand the situation in our county. The province will not understand the things suppressed by the Economic and Trade Commission Stand up for us, after all, this matter is justified, can we say that the county wants to protect these small steel mills?"

"However, the province never forced us to shut down all the small steel mills." Wang Yue argued.

Gao Xuejian sneered: "But the province has always asked us to shut down the small steel mills. As for the existence of these small steel mills, it is our own fault. The province will not take the blame for us."

"This..." Wang Yue was at a loss for words.

There are many cities and counties engaged in small iron and steel in Yanning Province, and the province has always adopted an attitude of turning a blind eye and closing one eye. When the country's governance is strong, the province will launch a campaign to clean up hundreds of companies to meet the requirements of the country. When the limelight passes and these small steel mills revive, the province will not care.

After all, the province needs the tax revenue provided by these small steel mills, and also needs these small steel mills to provide employment. These are much more important than energy saving and environmental protection.

However, this kind of tacit understanding between the province and the cities and counties below cannot be discussed on the table. Unspoken rules are unspoken rules. Although everyone knows it well, no one will admit it publicly. Xingchuan County wanted the province to help solve the problem of the steel inspection station, and it had to be able to come up with a solid reason, otherwise Gao Xuejian didn't even dare to mention it, so he had to figure out a solution by himself.

"County Gao, we can report to the province that these checkpoints have launched a surprise attack, and the investigation and punishment are too strong, which has affected the livelihood and stability of our county. If this continues, the owners and workers of those small businesses will be We're going to be hungry, and it's hard for us to explain what will affect the stability." Wang Yue said.

Gao Xuejian pursed his lips, remained silent for a long time, then nodded and said: "In the name of maintaining stability, it is indeed the only way. However, just saying that it may affect stability is not convincing. It is best... "

"I see, Magistrate Gao, I'll make arrangements right away." Wang Yue said understandingly.